1

1 Introduction to Vectors Stewart Appendix B, §12.1 and §12.2

In physics, vectors are used to represent displacement, velocity, momentum, etc.

Scalars are used to represent distance, speed, mass, etc.

What is the difference between a vector and a scalar?

What is a vector?
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Where do vectors live?

We will deal with vectors in 2-space, 3-space and n-space:

R1 is the real line.

R2 is the xy-plane.

R3 is the xyz-plane.

In general, n-space is denoted Rn. Points in n-dimensional space are given by their n coordinates.
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Three ways to think of vectors

1. Arrows in n-space
2. Points in n-space
3. n-tuples of numbers

Example 1. An arrow in 2-space going 1-unit in the x-direction and 2-units in the y-direction.

terminal point

initial point
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What is a vector?

Definition 2. A vector in Rn is an ordered n-tuple of real numbers,

x = (x1, x2, ..., xn ) .

A vector can be written in row form using round brackets

x = (x1, x2, . . . , xn)
or in column form using square brackets
 
x1
 
x 
x =  ..2  .
.
xn

Notation: The bold type for the vector name is to remind us that we are dealing with a vector and
not a scalar, and if you are writing by hand, typical conventions are to use an overline, an underline
→
or an arrow: x = x = x = x .
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To sketch a vector x = (a, b) in 2-space, choose an initial point. Find the second point by moving
a units to the right (left if a is negative) and b units up (down if b is negative). Connect the two
points with an arrow: tail at the initial point, head at the terminal point.

Note: by choosing a different initial point, you get a different picture of the same vector. The ability
to slide vectors around by choosing a different initial point is essential.

y
✻
✸
✑
✑ ✻
✑
✑
x
✑
✑
✑ b units
✑
✑
t✑
✛ ✲❄
a units
✲ x

Example 3. Sketch the vector (2, 1) in R2.

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Addition of vectors
Two vectors can be added together to get a new vector.

Algebraically: If x = (x1, x2, . . . , xn) and y = (y1, y2, . . . , yn) are vectors in n-space, then
x + y = (x1 + y1, x2 + y2, . . . , xn + yn ).

Example 4. If x = (1, 2, 3, 4) and y = (4, −2, 3, 0), then x + y =

Geometrically: Vectors are added by putting them together “head to tail”.

A picture for v = (a, b) and u = (c, d) in 2-space:
y
✻ ✒✁✕✻
✁
✁
u+v ✁
✁
v✁✁
b units
✁
✁
✁ a units✲❄
✶✛
✏
u✏✏ ✻
✏
✏✏
t✏✏
d units
✛ ✲❄
c units
✲ x
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Scaling of vectors
A vector can be multiplied by a scalar to obtain another vector.

Algebraically: If x = (x1, x2, . . . , xn) is a vector in n-space and s is a scalar, then

s x = s (x1, x2, . . . , xn) = (s x1, s x2, . . . , s xn )

For example, if x = (4, −2, 3, 0) and s = (0.5), then sx = (2, −1, 1.5, 0).

Geometrically: The magnitude (length of the arrow) is multiplied by |s|.

What happens if s is negative?
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Properties of vector addition and scalar multiplication

You can use the “component-by-component” rules of vector addition and scalar multiplication to
prove the following:

1. x + y = y + x (commutative)
2. (x + y) + z = x + (y + z) (associative)
3. x + 0 = 0 + x = x where 0 = (0, . . . , 0)
4. x + (−x) = (−x) + x = 0 where −x = (−x1, . . . , −xn)
5. 1x = x
6. (st)x = s(tx)
7. (s + t)x = sx + tx
8. s(x + y) = sx + sy
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Standard basis vectors

The ‘standard basis vectors’ in R2 are i = (1, 0) and j = (0, 1). Any vector in R2 can be written as
a linear combination of these standard basis vectors.

Example 5. Write (3, 17) as a linear combination of the standard basis vectors i and j.

The ‘standard basis vectors’ in R3 are i = (1, 0, 0) and j = (0, 1, 0) and k = (0, 0, 1).

Example 6. Write (−1, 0, 12) as a linear combination of the standard basis vectors i, j and k.

Note: We use i to denote the first standard basis vector in both R2 and R3, but these are different
things. It is important to know which space the vectors you are working with live in.
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Parallel vectors
Vectors are parallel if they have the same or opposite direction.

Example 7. Show that (1, 2) and (−3, −6) are parallel, but (1, 2) and (2, 5) are not.
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2 Vector Parametric Equations for Lines

Lines through the origin

If we consider the line through the origin and parallel to (2, 3), then any other point on the line is
just a scalar multiple of d = (2, 3), as you can see from the examples below.

y
9

6
(4, 6) = 2(2, 3)

3
d = (2, 3)

−2 2 4 x
(−2, −3) = −1(2, 3) −3

This line consists of the position vectors (points in R2) of the form r = s (2, 3) , with s ∈ R a
scalar.

More generally, the vector equation

r = sd, s ∈ R (arbitrary scalar)
represents the line through the origin and parallel to the vector d.
d is a direction vector for the line.
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In particular, if i = (1, 0) is the standard basis vector in R2, then the vector parametric equation
for the x-axis is
r = s i, s ∈ R .

j
x
1
i

Similarly, the y-axis has vector parametric equation

r = s(0, 1) = s j, s ∈ R
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Exercise 8.

(a) Write down a vector parametric description of the x, y and z axes in 3-space.

(b) Write down the vector parametric equation for the line through the origin parallel to (1, 4, −3).
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(c) Find a linear equation in x and y for the line given in parametric form by r = s(1, 2), s ∈ R.

(d) Find the vector parametric form of the line y = 3x.

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Vector parametric equations for lines that don’t go through the

origin

This is specified by a position vector r0, which can be any point on the line, and a direction vector
d, which is any vector parallel to the line. The vector parametric equation is then
r = sd + r0 , s ∈ R.
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For example, consider the line y = 2x + 1. Since the slope of this line is m = 12 , a direction vector
for this line is d = (1, 2).
A known point on the line is given by the y-intercept, represented by the position vector r0 = (0, 1).
Then we can use vector addition of this position vector with scalar multiples of the direction vector
to get any other point, represented by the position vector r, on the line. For example, the position
vector
r = (0, 1) + 2 (1, 2) = (2, 5)
| {z } | {z }
known point direction vector

represents another point on the line.

y
6

5 (2, 5) = (0, 1) + 2(1, 2)

(translated)
4 2(1, 2)
2(1, 2)
3

2 d = (1, 2)

r0 = (0, 1) 1

x
−1 1 2 3
−1
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The line through the point represented by the position vector r0, and parallel
to d is given by
r = r0 + s d
where s ∈ R is a scalar parameter and r is the position vector of a general point
on the line.

y
(translated) r = r0 + sd
sd

r0
sd
d

x
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Exercise 9. Points on a line in vector parametric form

(a) Is the point (−3, −7) on the line r = (1, 0) + s (1, 2), s ∈ R?
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(b) Sketch the line r = (0, 2) + s (1, 0), s ∈ R.

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Exercise 10. Vector parametric forms of lines

(a) Find a vector parametric equation for the line through (1, 1, 2) and parallel to (4, −1, 1).

(b) From the vector parametric equation in (a), find the scalar parametric equations for the
line.
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(c) Find the vector parametric form of the line x + 2 y = 3.

Is the point (1, 1) on this line?

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Line through two points

If a line passes through two points represented by the position vectors a and b, then a direction
vector for this line is given by b − a (or a − b).

Either point can be used as the point on the line.

Exercise 11. Finding directions for lines

(a) Find a direction vector for the line that passes through the points (2, 4) and (3, 1).
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(b) Find the vector parametric equation of the line through (4, −5, 2) and (3, −1, 6).
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Summary of lines
A line in R2 can be specified by any of the following:
1. a single linear equation y = mx + b;
2. a vector parametric equation r = r0 + sd;
3. two given points that lie on the line;
4. a point on the line and a vector parallel to the line .

A line in R3 can be specified by any of the following:

1. a vector parametric equation r = r0 + sd;
2. two given points r1, r2 that lie on the line;
3. a point on the line and a vector parallel to the line;
4. Two (independent) linear equations in x, y and z (more on this in the next topic).
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3 Distances and Angles in n-space

In 2-space we know how to measure length and distance by using Pythagoras’ Theorem.
For example, take a = (3, 2) and b = (1, 3).

y
b = (1, 3)
3
b − a (translated)

2 a = (3, 2)

b − a = (−2, 1) 1

x
−3 −2 −1 1 2 3

−1

The length of a is written kak and is given by Pythagoras’ Theorem.

2 2 2
√ √
kak = 3 + 2 ⇒ 2 2
kak = 3 + 2 = 13.

The distance between the points represented by the position vectors a and b is given by the length
of the vector b − a (or a − b). So
p √
2
kb − ak = k(1, 3) − (3, 2)k = k(−2, 1)k = (−2) + 1 = 5. 2
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We can extend the concepts of the length of a vector and the distance between two points to higher
dimensions.

In general:

Definition 12. The length (or norm, or magnitude) of a vector

x = (x1, . . . , xn) in Rn is
q
kxk = x21 + . . . + x2n.

If kxk = 1 then x is called a unit vector (sometimes written x̂).

The distance between two points represented by the position vectors x and y
in Rn is given by
d(x, y) = kx − yk.
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Dot product Stewart §12.3

Definition 13. The dot product (or scalar product or inner product)
of two vectors x = (x1, x2 . . . xn) and y = (y1, y2 . . . yn ) is
x · y = x1 y1 + x2 y2 + · · · + xn yn.

Example 14. If x = (3, 2, 4) and y = (1, 0, −1), then the dot product of x and y is

Note: The dot product of two vectors is a scalar not a vector!

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Properties of the Dot Product

• x and y must be the same size (dimension) for x · y to be defined.

• the dot product gives a scalar, not a vector

• The dot product is commutative:

x · y = x1y1 + x2y2 + . . . + xnyn = y1x1 + y2x2 + . . . + yn xn = y · x.

• The dot product is associative:

s (x · y) = (sx) · y
where s is any scalar.

• The dot product is distributive:

(x + y) · z = (x · z) + (y · z)
x · (y + z) = (x · y) + (x · z)
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Exercise 15. Dot products

Find the dot product of:
(a) (1, 1) and (1, −1)

(b) (1, 2, −1) and (1, 2, −1)

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Theorem 16. For vectors x, u, v ∈ Rn:

1. kxk2 = x · x.

2. ks xk = |s| kxk for any scalar s ∈ R.

3. ku + vk2 + ku − vk2 = 2 kuk2 + 2 kvk2.

Note: The last property is useful in geometry because ku − vk and ku + vk

are the lengths of the diagonals of the parallelogram formed by u and v.

Exercise 17. Proof

Using the properties of the dot product, prove the statements in Theorem 16.
(a) kxk2 = x · x.
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(b) ks xk = |s| kxk for any scalar s ∈ R.

(c) ku + vk2 + ku − vk2 = 2 kuk2 + 2 kvk2.

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Exercise 18. Properties of Dot Product

Suppose that u, v, and w are vectors in 3-space such that ||u|| = 6, u · v = 8, and u · w = −2.
Use this information to find the following.
(a) u · u

(b) v · u

(c) u · (v − w)

(d) u · (2w)
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Exercise 19. Length and Distance

Consider the vectors u = (−1, 2, 4) and v = (3, 0, −2).
(a) Find ||u||.

(b) Determine the distance between the points in R3 with position vectors u and v.
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Angle Between Two Vectors

Definition 20. The angle θ between two non-zero vectors x and y is

determined by
x·y
cos θ =
||x|| ||y||

Proof of angle formula

Consider the triangle formed by the two vectors x and y as in the diagram below.
Let a = ||x|| , b = ||y|| , c = ||x − y||
x
a

0 θ
x−y
b
y
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Then by the cosine rule we get:

c2 = a2 + b2 − 2a b cos θ
so ||x − y||2 = ||x||2 + ||y||2 − 2||x|| ||y|| cos θ
But also, ||x − y||2 = (x − y) · (x − y)
=x·x−y·x−x·y+y·y
= ||x||2 − 2x · y + ||y||2

Equating these two expressions for ||x − y||2 gives

||x||2 − 2x · y + ||y||2 = ||x||2 + ||y||2 − 2||x|| ||y|| cos θ
That is,
x · y = ||x|| ||y|| cos θ
as required. 
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Exercise 21. Finding angles

(a) Find the cosine of the angle between x = (1, 2, 2) and y = (0, 1 , 0).
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(b) Find the cosine of the angle between x = (1, 2, 2) and z = (0, 1, −1).
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Exercise 22. Triangles

Let S be the triangle with vertices A = (2, 2, 2), B = (4, 2, 1), and C = (2, 3, 1)
(a) Find the length of the shortest side of S.
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(b) Find the cosine of the angle BAC at vertex A.

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Orthogonality

Definition 23. Vectors x and y are said to be orthogonal (or perpendicular)

if and only if
x · y = 0.

We can write x ⊥ y, where the symbol ⊥ means “perpendicular to”.

Explanation: The formula for the cosine of the angle between two vectors can also be written as
x · y = ||x|| ||y|| cos θ.
Since the lengths of two non-zero vectors ||x|| and ||y|| are always positive and non-zero, the sign
of the dot product is the same as the sign of cos θ. In particular, the dot product can only be zero
if cos θ is zero, therefore θ = 90◦. We can also determine from the dot product whether the angle
between two vectors is acute or obtuse (or a right angle).
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Exercise 24. Angle between vectors

Determine whether the angle between the two given vectors is acute, obtuse, or a right angle.
(a) x = (1, 2, 3, 4) and y = (1, −1, −1, 1)

(b) u = (1, 2, 1) and v = (−1, 4, −3)

(c) w = (4, 1, 5) and z = (−3, 0, 2)

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4 Projections

Vector projections arise in many everyday situations. For example, suppose you are pushing a lawn-
mower through the grass with the handle at a 40◦ angle with the ground. When you push along the
direction of the handle with a force F, it is actually the component of F parallel to the ground that
makes the lawnmower move forwards. We call this component of F the projection of F parallel to
the ground, or Fp. Note that if the handle is perpendicular to the ground, then Fp = 0 and the
lawn-mower does not move.
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If you push the lawn-mower uphill then you must also push against a projection Wp of the force
due to gravity W on the lawn-mower.

More generally, suppose that d is a non-zero vector in Rn. If x is any other vector in n-space, then
y is the projection of x on d if
y
(i) y is parallel to d x
x−y
(ii) x − y is orthogonal to d

d
y
x
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Exercise 25. Deriving the projection formula

Use these two conditions to derive the following mathematical formula for the projection of a vector
x onto a vector d.
 
x·d
projd x = d
||d||2
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Exercise 26. Projections

For each of the following vectors, find the projection in the direction d = (2, 1), then sketch a
diagram to illustrate.

(a) x = (3, 4)
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(b) x = (1, 3)

(c) x = (−3, 1)
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Distance from a point to a line through the origin

The projection of x onto d gives the closest point to x on the line with
parametric equation r = sd.

The distance from x to this line is kx − projd xk.

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Exercise 27.
(a) Find the projection of x = (4, 4) onto d = (2, −1).

(b) Hence find the distance of the point (4, 4) from the line {r = s (2, −1), s ∈ R}.
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Exercise 28. Distance from a point to a line not through the origin
Find the distance from x = (2, 2) to the line given by r = (1, 0) + s(0, 1), s ∈ R.
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5 Planes in 3-space Stewart §12.5

Recall that a line is determined by either

• a point r0 on the line and a direction vector d parrallel to the line, or
• two points on the line (a direction vector can be obtained by subtracting these two points)
These yield a parametric description of the line in the form form
r = r0 + s d, s ∈ R.
where s ∈ R is the parameter.

What would a vector parametric equation for a plane look like?

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To uniquely determine a plane in R3, any of the following will do:

• one point on the plane and two (independent) vectors parallel to the plane
• three points on the plane (which do not all lie in a straight line)
• one point on the plane and one vector perpendicular to the plane
• one consistent linear (scalar) equation in three unknowns
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One point on the plane and two vectors parallel to the plane

e r0 + sd + te

r0 d

0
Points on the plane can be parameterised by position vectors
r = r0 + s d + t e, s, t ∈ R
where
• the plane contains the point given by the position vector r0,
• the vectors d and e are parallel to the plane — direction vectors for the plane,
• s and t are parameters (the plane is 2–dimensional).
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Example
The vector parametric form of the plane through the point (1, 2, 3) with direction vectors (4, 5, 6)
and (7, 8, 9) is
r= (1, 2, 3) + s (4, 5, 6) + t (7, 8, 9)
| {z } | {z }
fixed point in the plane parameters & direction vectors
where s and t are the parameters.
We get the scalar parametric equations by remembering that r = (x, y, z) and writing out
components:
x = 1 + 4s + 7t
y = 2 + 5s + 8t
z = 3 + 6s + 9t
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Planes via three points

C
e=c−a

d= b−a
A B

O
−→ −−→ −→
Suppose that the points A, B and C given by the position vectors a = OA, b = OB and c = OC
lie on a plane.
Take r0 = a and choose direction vectors
d=b−a and e = c − a.
(There are lots of other choices for direction vectors.)
Then points on the plane is given by the position vectors
r = r0 + s d + t e
= a + s (b − a) + t (c − a), s, t ∈ R.
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Exercise 29. Determining a plane

Find the plane through the points (1, 2, 1), (5, 0, −1) and (3, −1, −1).
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One point and one direction vector perpendicular to the plane.

Take a vector n perpendicular to the plane, and let r0 be the position vector of a point on the plane.
If r = (x, y, z) is the position vector of any other point on the plane then r − r0 lies parallel to the
plane, so is perpendicular to n.

n
r
r − r0

r0

Point–normal form of a plane

Points given by position vectors r on a plane can be characterised by the equation
(r − r0) · n = 0
where r0 is the position vector of a fixed point on the plane, and n points in a
direction perpendicular to the plane.
The vector n is called a normal vector to the plane.

This description can be used as a “test” to see if a given point represented by the position vector x
lies in the plane.
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Exercise 30. Determining a plane

Find a vector point-normal equation for the plane through the point (−2, 5, 4) and perpendicular
to n = (3, 1, −2).
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Scalar form of a plane

Definition 31. An equation of the form
ax + by + cz = d
is the equation of a plane in 3-space in scalar form with normal n = (a, b, c).
(At least one of a, b or c must be 6= 0.)

Notes

• This form is sometimes called a scalar point-normal form and can be obtained by expanding
the point-normal form
(r − r0) · n = 0.
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Exercise 32. Scalar form from point-normal form

Expand the vector point-normal form for the plane from the previous exercise, containing the point
given by the position vector r0 = (−2, 5, 4) and with a normal vector n = (3, 1, −2), to obtain
the scalar point-normal form.
 60

Changing from one type of equation to another

Exercise 33. Scalar form to vector parametric form

Write the plane

x + 2y + 3z = 4
in vector parametric form.
 61

Exercise 34. Vector parametric form to point-normal and scalar form

Find a point-normal form of the plane

r = (1, 2, 3) + s (2, 0, 1) + t (4, 1, −2), s, t ∈ R
and write it in scalar form.
 62

6 The cross product Stewart §12.4

In the previous exercise, it was time-consuming to find the normal vector orthogonal to two vectors.
In 3-space, there is a special way of finding a vector n = (a, b, c) that is orthogonal to two given
vectors x = (x1, x2, x3) and y = (y1 , y2, y3).

Definition 35. If x = (x1, x2, x3) and y = (y1, y2, y3) are two vectors in
3-space, then the vector
x × y = (x2y3 − x3y2, −(x1y3 − x3y1), x1y2 − x2y1 )
is called the cross product of x and y.
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For example, if x = (1, 2, 3) and y = (4, 5, 6), then the components of the cross product are
obtained as follows:

i-th component:
2 × 6 − 5 × 3 = 12 − 15 = −3

j-th component:
− (1 × 6 − 4 × 3) = − (6 − 12) = 6

k-th component:
1 × 5 − 4 × 2 = 5 − 8 = −3

Then x × y = (−3, 6, −3) = −3(1, −2, 1).

 64

Exercise 36. Cross products

Find the cross product of a = (1 , 2, −2) and b = (3, 0, 1).

 65

Where does the formula for the cross product come from?
The cross product of x and y
1. is orthogonal to both x and y, and
2. has magnitude equal to the area of the parallelogram determined by x and y
This determines x × y up to scaling by ±1. This sign is determined by the ‘right hand rule’ which
says that if you point your right hand in the direction of x and curl your fingers in the direction of
y, then your thumb is pointing in the direction of x × y.

θ x

The cross product is the unique vector in R3 with these properties.

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Comments:
• The cross product operation is not commutative. In fact, x × y = − y × x.
(Optional exercise: Prove this from the component definition of the cross product.)

• The cross product of two vectors gives a vector, whereas the dot product gives a scalar.

• The cross product is only defined for vectors in R3.

Exercise 37. Properties of Cross Product

If two vectors are parallel, what is their cross product?
 67

Properties of cross product

Theorem 38. For vectors u, v, w ∈ R3 only:

1. u × v = −(v × u).

2. u × (v + w) = u × v + u × w.

3. (u + v) × w = u × w + v × w.

4. s(u × v) = (s u) × v = u × (s v) where s is a scalar.

5. u × 0 = 0 × u = 0.

6. u × u = 0.
 68

Use of the cross-product to simplify calculation of a normal vectors to a plane

Exercise 39. Vector parametric form to point-normal scalar form

Revisit Exercise 34 to find a scalar form of the plane via the cross product
r = (1, 2, 3) + s (2, 0, 1) + t (4, 1, −2), s, t ∈ R
and write it in scalar form.
 69

Exercise 40. Point-normal form to vector parametric form

Write the plane

(3, 1, −2) · (r − (−2, 5, 4)) = 0
in vector parametric form.
 70

Exercise 41. Area of parallelogram

Find the area of the parallelogram determined by the vectors u = (1, −1, 2) and v = (0, 3, 1).
 71

Exercise 42. Area of triangle

Find the area of the triangle with vertices at A(1, −1, 0), B(2, 1 − 1) and C(−1, 1, 2).
 72

Exercise 43. Volume of a parallelepiped

Show that the volume of the parallelepiped (or 3-dimensional parallelogram) determined by the
three vectors x, y and z is given by |x · (y × z)|.

y
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 74

Exercise 44. Finding Volumes

Find the volume of the parallelepiped with sides
a = (2, −6, 2), b = (0, 4, −2), c = (2, 2, −4)
 75

A Summary of the Main Forms for the Equation of a Plane:

• Vector Parametric
r = r0 + sd + te
where r0 is the position vector of a point on the plane, and d and e are two direction vectors
for the plane.
Note that the equation of a plane through three points is just a special case of this.

• Vector Point-Normal
(r − r0) · n = 0
where r0 is the position vector of a point on the plane, and n is a normal vector for the plane.

• Scalar Point-Normal
ax + by + cz = d
is the equation of a plane in 3-space with normal n = (a, b, c).

(We often just refer to this as the “scalar” form.)

Make sure you can change from one form to another. This is useful when solving intersection
problems, our next section.
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7 Intersection problems

Lines Meeting Planes

A line and a plane in 3-space usually meet at a point, X, but sometimes they are parallel.

We can find the intersection of a line and a plane using vectors. This sort of problem is easiest to
do if the plane is in scalar point-normal form – you can always convert the plane to this form if
necessary.

First find the scalar parametric equations for the line, then substitute these for x, y, and z in the
plane equation. Solve to find the value of the parameter at the point of intersection. The coordinates
of the point of intersection can then be found by substituting this value of the parameter into the
line equation.
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Exercise 45. Finding the intersection of a line and a plane

Where does the line r = (1, 2, 3) + s (3, 2, −1) meet the plane x + y + 2z = 3?
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Exercise 46. Lines and Planes

Does the line r = (1, 2, 3) + s (−1, −1, 1) meet the plane x + y + 2z = 3?
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Intersections of lines in R3
The chances of two lines meeting in 3-space are not great. They need to at least lie in the same
plane.

Exercise 47.
Show that the following lines in 3-space do not meet.
r1 = (2, −4, 2) + s(3, 1, −2) and r2 = (3, −1, 0) + t(−2, 2, 1)
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Note: These lines are not parallel either. If we look at the direction vectors, (3, 1, −2) cannot be
written as a scalar multiple of (−2, 2, 1). Such lines are called skew.
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Exercise 48. Intersection of two lines in 3-space

Show that the following lines in 3-space do meet and find their point of intersection.
r1 = (1, 2, −1) + s(3, −1, 2) and r2 = (3, 2, 0) + t(4, −2, 3)
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8 Closest points and shortest distances

The distance from a point P to a plane can be found by dropping a perpendicular from P to the
plane, as in the diagram below.

−−→
kP Xk

X
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An outline of the method is as follows.

• Write down a vector parametric equation for the line through the point P and perpendicular to
the plane. Note that the normal vector of the plane can be used as a direction vector for the
line!

• Find the scalar parametric equations for the line and substitute these into the scalar equation
for the plane.

• Solve the resulting equation to find the value of the parameter where the line meets the plane,
and hence find the coordinates of the closest point on the plane to the point P .
−−→
• Then find the distance from the point P to the plane by calculating the length kP Xk.
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Exercise 49. Distance from point to plane

Which point on the plane x − y + z = 0 is closest to the point (5, 6, 7)?
How far is this point from the plane?
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Comments
• The distance between parallel planes can be treated as the same problem; just find a point in
the first plane and follow the previous procedure.

• When finding the intersection of two or more planes, write the equations of the planes in scalar
point-normal form and solve using Gaussian elimination and back substitution (covered again
in more detail in the Linear Algebra topic). Two planes in 3-space usually meet in a line,
although they can also be parallel. Three planes in 3-space may have no points of intersection
(no solutions), one point of intersection (a unique solution), or they can meet in a line (an infinite
number of solutions).

• The angle between two planes can be found by finding the angle between the normal vectors for
the planes.
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• The distance between two skew lines can also be treated in a similar way by embedding one
of the lines (call this line 1) in a plane that is parallel to the other line (line 2). The shortest
distance between the two skew lines may then be calculated by finding the distance from a point
on the other line (line 2) to the plane containing line 1.
r2 = (5, 6, 7) + t(1, 2, 1)
(5, 6, 7)

X
r1 = (4, 5, 6) + s(1, 3, 2)

• In general, to find the distance between two skew lines,

r1 = p1 + s d1 and r2 = p2 + t d2
we can take the first line and create a plane that contains this line within it and is parallel to
the second line. Therefore this plane will have the vector parametric equation
r = p1 + s d1 + t d2 .
Then write this equation in scalar point normal form and find the distance from the point given
by the position vector p2 to this plane.
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Exercise 50. Distance between skew lines

Find the distance between the skew lines
r1 = (4, 5, 6) + s(1, 3, 2) and r2 = (5, 6, 7) + t(1, 2, 1)
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